A union leader for the US Border Patrol spoke out Monday about the current dispute over funding the Department of Homeland Security between Congress and President Obama.

Shawn Moran, vice president for the National Border Patrol Council, said in an interview with The Daily Signal:

We’re in the middle of political football. You want to be able to do your job, but things like this make it more difficult.

He also said that “those in D.C. aren’t concerned with the real-world impact of a shutdown.”

The House passed a Homeland Security bill last month that includes amendments to undo much of Obama’s executive actions related to immigration as well as a program that would allow Dreamers- children brought in the country illegally- to stay.

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Funding for Homeland Security expires February 27th. Many conservatives say the department should be funded only if there are measures to block Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

Obama has said that he will veto any bill that includes measures to stop his actions on immigration.

Obama has also called on Congress to fully fund the department:

The men and women of the America’s homeland security apparatus do important work to protect us, and Republicans and Democrats in Congress should not be playing politics with that. We need to fund the department. Pure and simple.

Moran is concerned with how a potential funding crisis could affect the Border Patrol’s ability to attract future agents:

We want to make sure we’re out there able to do our job. We want to be funded. We don’t want politics to play into how we secure the border.